Aqueducts have dramatically changed this old lake, now home to tufa towers and its very own species of tiny brine shrimp.

The interior of the Overlook Hotel in "The Shining" was based on this Yosemite original.

A glimpse into the lives of the the Miwok and Paiute people in Yosemite National Park.

Remember that scene in the Matrix, when Neo is in the big white room with all the weapons flying by? Well, this is what it would look like if he had wanted trees instead of guns.

This gorgeous beach hides behind two headlands in Oregon's Ecola State Park.

Unconventional site where the tracks of Zurich tramcars intersect.

A cablecar-station-turned-revolving restaurant with 360-degree views of the Swiss skyline.

One hundred years ago this small house in downtown Zürich became the birthplace of the Dada movement.

This historic covered bridge contains a series of macabre paintings that communicate one thing: everyone dies.

A historic observatory precariously perched at the "Top of Europe."

This memorial commemorating fallen Swiss Guards of the French Revolution has been called the saddest stone in the world.

Giant, natural amphitheaters made of delicate geological formations called "hoodoos."

The world's largest mountain carving could fit all of Mount Rushmore inside it many times over.

This Yellowstone geyser may not shoot as high as the nearby Old Faithful, but it erupts for considerably longer.

One of nature's most well-scheduled phenomenons resides in Wyoming's Yellowstone National Park.

An architect's childhood fantasy treehouse made real.

The largest hot spring in the United States is, as the name suggests, a stunning show of natural color.

The first declared National Monument in the United States.

A beautiful geyser under environmental threat.

One of the world's tallest Ferris wheels takes visitors high above Las Vegas in a spinning party room.

James Turrell's total color immersion art installation, hidden on the top floor of a luxury handbag shop.

The world-record holder for the longest bridge stretching continuously over water.

The LSU mascot lived on the college campus in one of the most impressive tiger habitats in the country.

A Cajun-style Christmas on the river also involves sky-high pyres and explosives.